#why are adults allowed to find new loves and passions and have a love triangle with a bad boy and their best friend if they so want

[nat-20s]

I don't want to sound dismissive because you're right and stories about adults are good, but that post about not relating to coming of age stories is so funny you just "came of age" like 6 years ago.

i definitely get where ur comin from anon but I didn't relate to coming age stories when i was """"coming of age""" either. I haven't even had a first love and i didn't start to understand my gender more until i was 23 skdfjkdflk which is why it's hilarious but also a little frustrating that ages like. 15-19 are supposed to be prime Discovering Yourself and Becoming Who You Are ages. most people are in a constant state of self discovery and becoming and i just find most coming of age stories uhhhh...kind of horseshit lol. I'm dunking on anyone that did find them relatable or did see themselves in them or value them but they r just. Not for me and never really have been even when I was the target age you know?

[arctic-comet]

Osblaineweek2021, Day 2: Prose

I love book quotes. Looking at quotes is one of my favorite ways to to inspire myself to write more fic.

Here’s a small collection of book quotes (and recs!) of where I’ve “found” June and Nick.

This post contains spoilers for the following books/series:

- Lover Mine by JR Ward

- The Wrath and The Dawn duology by Renée Ahdieh

- A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

Lover Mine by J.R. Ward

Summary:

John Matthew has come a long way since he was found living among humans, his vampire nature unknown to himself and to those around him. After he was taken in by the Brotherhood, no one could guess what his true history was- or his true identity. Indeed, the fallen Brother Darius has returned, but with a different face and a very different destiny. As a vicious personal vendetta takes John into the heart of the war, he will need to call up on both who he is now and who he once was in order to face off against evil incarnate. Xhex, a symphath assassin, has long steeled herself against the attraction between her and John Matthew. Having already lost one lover to madness, she will not allow the male of worth to fall prey to the darkness of her twisted life. When fate intervenes, however, the two discover that love, like destiny, is inevitable between soul mates.

It's basically a paranormal love story between two warriors. He's really young (although he's actually a reincarnation of a very old vampire warrior, but he doesn't know that), and she's like 300 years older than him. In this book, she's been raped and abused by a guy who also used to bully him. She escapes, but he saves her life. She's hungry for revenge and wants to die after achieving that goal, but of course eventually changes her mind. In the end he actually serves her rapist to her on a silver platter so that she can kill him (sound like anyone we know?). He literally holds the guy down while she kills him.

They're my ultimate favorite ship in this series, and IMO their relationship eventually develops into one of the strongest ones. This series is a bit of a hit-or-miss for most people, because the language and the writing style are pretty ridiculous in all seriousness. If you decide to read this, I recommend starting the series from the beginning because John and Xhex meet for the first time several books before this one, LOL.

Here are some of the quotes that make me think of Nick and June:

“Besides, the story of the two of them was written in the language of collision; they were ever crashing into each other and ricocheting away—only to find themselves pulled back into another impact.” ― J.R. Ward, Lover Mine

“As his ears rang and his heart broke for her, he stayed strong against the gale force she let loose. After all, there was a reason why here and hear were seperated by so little and sounded one like the other. Bearing witness to her, he heard her and was there for her because that was all you could do during a fall apart. But God, it pained him to see how she suffered.” ― J.R. Ward, Lover Mine

“...the only thing that had tethered her to the earth had been him and it was strange, but she felt welded to him on some core level now. He had seen her at her absolute worst, at her weakest and most insane, and he hadn't looked away. He hadn't judged and he hadn't been burned. It was as if in the heat of her meltdown they had melted together. This was more than emotion. It was a matter of soul.” ― J.R. Ward, Lover Mine

The Wrath and the Dawn duology by Renée Ahdieh

Summary:

One Life to One Dawn. In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all. Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

This is a young adult fantasy romance, and basically, Khalid is a lot like Nick. He’s made mistakes that he needs to own, but at the same time he’s forced to commit atrocities he doesn’t want to do. He hates himself and doesn’t believe himself to be worthy of love, and yet he falls in love with Shazi. He's viewed as the villain of the story by everyone aside from Shazi and a few other characters until almost the end of the 2nd book.

“I love you, a thousand times over. And I will never apologize for it.”

―Renee Ahdieh, The Wrath and the Dawn

“It’s a fitting punishment for a monster. to want something so much—to hold it in your arms — and know beyond a doubt you will never deserve it.”

― Renee Ahdieh, The Wrath and the Dawn

“When I was a boy, my mother would tell me that one of the best things in life is the knowledge that our story isn't over yet. Our story may have come to a close, but your story is still yet to be told.

Make it a story worthy of you”

― Renee Ahdieh, The Wrath and the Dawn

“In that moment of perfect balance, she understood. This peace? These worries silenced without effort? It was because they were two parts of a whole. He did not belong to her. And she did not belong to him. It was never about belonging to someone. It was about belonging together.”

― Renee Ahdieh, The Rose & the Dagger

“A boy who'd thrived in the shadows.

Now he had to live in the light.

To live . . . fiercely.

To fight for every breath.”

― Renee Ahdieh, The Rose & the Dagger

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Summaries:

Book 1

Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ... Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

Book 2

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people. Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two. With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

Fantasy romance with explicit sex scenes, and book 2 is a lot better than book 1. Our main character Feyre falls for a really boring fae guy, but also meets the hottest guy she’s ever known. The first guy of course isn't the real love interest (this is a twist this author loves to do). They all end up as prisoners, and the 2nd guy saves her life when the 1st one is totally useless. He also makes her hate him as he does it because he has to. After getting out, she tries to make her old relationship work, but it doesn’t, and guess who swoops in?

I do see some Nick in Rhysand (in addition to his role in the love triangle). They’re both traumatized and prefer to keep a lot of their feelings to themselves. I also see some of the same selflessness in both of them. Rhysand wants Feyre to choose him because she loves him, but he’s willing to accept that she may not, and doesn’t tell her that they’re pretty much destined to be together (it’s a supernatural thing, and he will suffer a lot if she decides she doesn’t want him).

“Everything I love has always had a tendency to be taken from me.”

―Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses

“It took me a long while to realize that Rhysand, whether he knew it or not, had effectively kept me from shattering completely.”

― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses

“Regardless of his motives or his methods, Rhysand was keeping me alive. And had done so even before I set foot Under the Mountain.”

― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses

“Because," he went on, his eyes locked with mine, "I didn't want you to fight alone. Or die alone."

― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses

“He thinks he'll be remembered as the villain in the story. But I forgot to tell him that the villain is usually the person who locks up the maiden and throws away the key. He was the one who let me out.”

― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“And I wondered if love was too weak a word for what he felt, what he’d done for me. For what I felt for him.”

― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“I was his and he was mine, and we were the beginning and middle and end. We were a song that had been sung from the very first ember of light in the world.”

― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

[segasister]

Simple Romance Writing Tips:

(Adapted from my twitter, but better organized)

You have two protagonists, not one. Both need focus and development. Both are agents of desire, not objects of it.

When it comes to perspective, both protagonists’ points of view are important. Remember: both are agents of desire, not just objects of desire. You can go with dual First Person POV or Omniscient Third Person POV. You decide what’s easier for you.

One character shouldn’t change for the other. Both should grow with each other. For example, while a rebellious character learns to become more sweet, their uptight partner needs to learn to become more relaxed. The best partners help you grow as a person.

Don’t end the story when your protagonists get together. It’s not only overdone, but it ends before the bigger story can begin.

You can build tension in a relationship without involving abuse (physical/emotional/etc.) or forcing a break-up (either temporary or permanent) between the couple.

That in mind, couples do have their struggles, from the mundane to the more more dramatic.

You don’t need high stakes to create a compelling story. You just need some conflict present.

Don’t forget to add in sweet moments as well (PDAs need not be overly mushy). Remind the audience why they’re together in the first place.

Grand gestures are, well, grand. However, the little things (like helping each other with tasks) can be just as romantic.

You know love languages? Use some combination of all five of them in your story. Every person expresses love differently, and you should reflect that. What are the five love languages? Words of Affirmation (“I love you.”), Acts of Service (Helping your partner put groceries away), Gifts (A stuffed bear won at a fair), Physical Intimacy (Cuddling on the couch), Quality Time (Playing video games together while a long distance apart).

Opposites attract, yeah. However, there’s no shame in having characters be alike in many ways as well. Hell, have your couple be different in some ways but alike in others. Just about every relationship, from romantic to platonic to familial, is like this.

There is concern with having your characters, “being defined by their relationships,” ie. having their only trait be, “X’s partner.” However, that shouldn’t happen if you write your character similarly to how they were when they were single. However, don’t forget that growth.

Don't have one character in your relationship revolve around the other (what, "only letting them be defined by their relationship actually means.") In real life, that could be a sign of one partner isolating the other from friends, family, et cetera, an abusive tactic. (More on that below.)

The above also applies to same-sex/polyamorous relationships. Just because it’s not straight, doesn’t mean you treat them different.

Just because you’re writing a story about abuse/bigotry/incest/etc. doesn’t necessarily mean you’re endorsing said things. It’s only endorsing if it’s not shown as a bad thing.

Want to avoid accidentally writing a toxic relationship? You can start by not writing the following power dynamics: Large age gap (adhere to Age / 2 + 7), Huge difference in life experience, Master/Boss + subservient, Celebrity + fan, Literal powers + little/none. Almost all of those can work if the one with less influence/experience/power has the opportunity to match that and eventually take care of themselves should things go south. If they’re not, they’re in an abusive relationship. Physical/Sexual violence need not apply.

One partner shouldn’t be a caretaker for the other. Sure, both must care for one another, but one partner shouldn’t do all of the caring. On the one hand, the one not doing the work is lazy. On the other hand, the carer could be doing this to make the other dependent on them.

If you do intend to write a toxic relationship, make sure it ends either with both partners maturing, either by seeking counseling or ending the relationship. This is especially true if you’re writing an abusive one. However, as in reality, it is a process. Take your time.

People heal from such relationships in different ways. Some choose to seek a new partner, some don’t. Some choose to devote their passion elsewhere (like career or family). What’s important is that they come out better than they were in the relationship. Some… don’t heal, and end up continuing the cycle, by being a victim again or by becoming an abuser. This could work if you intend on writing a tragedy. An abuse victim becoming an abuser themselves or ending in another abusive relationship isn’t a happy ending.

On that note, you can write sad endings. However, tragedy doesn’t necessarily have to end with death. Characters should leave the story changed, no matter what, but a tragedy has to end with them going through a negative change; any, not just them dying or losing a loved one.

Opposing that, writing comedy is hard. There’s a fine line between humor feeling natural and forced. Try to stay on the former side of that line if possible. I find it’s best to write humor by not trying to. You do you, but remember that humor is in the ear of the beholder.

On the subject of love triangles: Make sure both rivals have their own good qualities so it’s not one-sided/between two awful people.

Make sure it ends in a way that satisfies all parties. How you do so is up to you. (Don’t pair your leftover with the protagonist’s baby.)

Romance can be affixed to other genres as well. Slice of Life, fantasy, sci-fi, historical, etc.

The difference between Fantasy and Sci-Fi? Magic vs. Science. Both require the creativity to pull the genre off, but both can take place in a variety of settings. You can write a Pirate Fantasy or a Sci-Fi Western. Maybe you wanna to combine both Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Try it!

Do your research! If you’re basing your story on a time period in a specific place, do your research on what it was like then. Scientific accuracy also helps when it comes to research (for Sci-Fi). Even fantasy requires research, if you wish to include real world elements.

On that note, lore and continuity are not interchangeable. Continuity is making sure plot points remain consistent. Lore is making sure world building stays consistent.

Age is just a number. However, don’t pair teens with adults, or barely-adults with grown adults. The rule of Age / 2 + 7? That also applies here to ensure audiences don’t feel too queasy.

That being said, you are allowed to start the story with your protagonists as kids.

On writing minorities: don’t rely on stereotypes, and don’t write minority characters just to have them. They deserve proper development as well.

Don’t be afraid to have people of two different races together; just be careful that neither protagonist comes off as racist.

On that note, research the people and cultures you wish to write about. Be careful so as to not come across as using said people/culture as a token.

Don’t just focus on the physical/sexual aspect. Sure, physical attraction plays a part, but the personality of both protagonists are more important. How well they get along.

On the topic of sex: it’s entirely optional. There’s plenty of ways to show intimacy without having your characters engage in sex. Just have them enjoy each other’s company. You’re still open to if your audience is more mature; just don’t forget sex isn’t the only option.

Speaking from experience: you can have love without sex. But you cannot have sex without love. (That’s rape!) It’s a, “not every rhombus is a square but every square is a rhombus,” scenario. However, if you just wanna indulge yourself with your work, go for it.

There's a fine line between objectification and expressing sexual agency. It's okay for characters to show pride in that. It's okay for characters to take pride in their modesty.

Promiscuity isn't inherently a bad thing. Abstinence isn't inherently a good thing.

Play around with relationship dynamics (childhood sweethearts, enemies to lovers, etc.)

You want to write a particular romance dynamic? Go right ahead: just make sure it makes sense with the characters you're writing first. Also, some are harder to pull off than others.

When writing Enemies to Lovers, keep in mind it's not an instantaneous progress. Give the enemies time to stop being enemies before you can move on to the, "Lovers" stage. Otherwise, you'll be asking yourself the same question you ask when you see sitcom couples who clearly hate each other and are only still in it for sex/their kids: "Why are you together?"

Another popular dynamic: childhood sweethearts. Just be careful not to write them like siblings (have one see the other “like a sibling” so to speak) and you should be good.

Whatever dynamic you choose, however, don’t be afraid to experiment, bring something fresh to it.

There’s nothing wrong with having a niche, nor is there anything wrong with expanding your horizons and trying something new and taking a risk.

You don’t want to write romance? You just want your protagonists to be platonic? That’s fine.

It’s okay if you don’t have everything planned out ahead of time. It’s okay if the story strays from that initial plan. Go with it. Improvise. Adapt. Outlines help you keep on track, but your story should feel alive to the audience. Changes to the original plan are natural.

Write for YOU. Yes, it’s satisfying to hear feedback, especially positive feedback, but it’s important to write for yourself.

On criticism, be open to it, but there’s a difference between constructive criticism and just vitriol from the reader. Only the former is important.

On writer’s block: if you need to walk away for a bit, go ahead. Maybe an idea will pop in the meantime. 

It’s okay to be ashamed of what you wrote in the past. That shows you’ve grown as a writer. It’s also okay to have unfinished drafts. They can be repurposed.

Most important when it comes to writing in general, not just romance: be happy in your work. You’re gonna have off days, but only you’ll know if it’ll be worth it in the end. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to move on to another creative field, or any other altogether.

Any other authors have any tips to share? Doesn’t have to be about romance; they can be about any part of the writing process! I will reblog this post with that advice and will tag you! Or you can reblog yourself.

[hopevalley]

Season 8, Episode 11: Changing Times

Well, as it turns out, my second Covid vaccine kicked me down hard. After sleeping for quite a long time, though, I’m tired of sleeping and ready to try and get this write-up done.

Surprisingly, or...perhaps not so surprisingly, I don’t think I have that much to say about last night’s episode. I think we’re just too close to the finale for me to feel “safe” in guessing/hoping for anything in particular.

Let’s hit up the plot points like before:

The Triangle

Carson & Faith

Rosemary’s Purpose

School District Problems

Jesse’s Disappearance 

The Triangle

I’m probably one of the few people who liked Nathan who felt like the whole beginning scene was super weird and uncomfortable. Homegirl held his hand for one second in the last episode and now she’s going to warm his serge by the fire (while he just stands there awkwardly??? He could have done that himself while she got him some tea or something idk) and then dress him???

I think we’re meant to see that as her going back to...I don’t know...old habits die hard or something? But she was barely married for any time at all and it’s been three years since Jack died. No way would she be so far into those old habits that she’d fall back into them with Nathan lmao.

Like, it’d be a REALLY GOOD PLOT for a character who had been married for years and lost a spouse (cough Abigail cough) but considering the circumstances it felt like a cheesy fanfiction! I wanted to like it, but I just felt weird about it. Tonal whiplash out the wazoo.

Especially when we had to watch Lucas drive by and see Nathan’s horse at Elizabeth’s house. 

Lucas sadly watching Elizabeth talk to Nathan was also awkward, but at least it gave him the courage he needed to break things off with her.

You’d think I’d have a lot to say about the triangle, but I’m saving all of that for some kind of...post-season discussion. Who is she going to pick? Nathan seems like the most logical writing choice, but it could yet be Lucas. I genuinely don’t care who she chooses so long as she picks someone.

--

Carson & Faith

I like to hate on these two a lot, so you might be surprised to know that I’m enjoying their storyline. I’ve criticized this series over and over for never bothering to portray realistic relationships and one thing I can say about Faith and Carson this season is that things actually feel...plausible.

I also appreciate how they try to tie Carson into the town a bit more: he talks to Henry and Minnie and even Lucas trying to figure things out! It makes perfect sense to me; how do you choose between someone you care about/the potential life you could make with them, and a career that you’re really and truly passionate about?

This is the most interesting Carson has been since Season 5.

Anyway, the pudding scene was genuinely funny, and a great way to break up the stress that I’m sure we were all feeling about his impending proposal. Faith’s reaction to thinking he might propose was...pretty telling. I really wish they hadn’t saved so many dangling plotlines to solve in the final episode, though. I was hoping Faith and Carson’s storyline would be fully figured out in the penultimate episode so that we could let him go (or whatever) in the season finale. It just seems to me like it would be a good, smooth ending for them.

Also, for what it’s worth, they tried doing this kind of plot with Frank in Season 5, but it was rushed and pulled out of thin air; he’d never shown an inclination toward pastoring toward dying children in the past and it was clear that they just needed to write him off the show. With Carson, this sort of plotline works VERY well; he was a surgeon, and he was passionate about it, but that passion took a hit when his wife needed surgery and she died on the table under his hands. He’s had some time to move on from that and process his feelings, so it makes sense that he’d find that passion again. I just wanted to point this out because it’s interesting how well it works for Carson and how...well, not-well it worked with Frank. I really felt like with Frank, it was just a storyline that could have been given to anyone with the same success rate, whereas with Carson they took a look at the character and what we already know of him, and built the storyline specifically for him. That’s good writing, babes!

Anyway, Carson trying to propose in the vague hope that Faith will come with him, even knowing she doesn’t want to leave Hope Valley, is pretty manipulative and awful, but it really goes a long way toward making his character feel like an actual person. Like yeah, he does actually want the best of both worlds. Do you blame him?

--

Rosemary’s Purpose

I know a lot of people are really into this storyline but I found it boring. The only good part was when Lee called the other desk in his office “hers.” Everything else just felt like a bit too much to come to the conclusion that she should run a paper. We already had her “advice” column in the paper and it was...amusing while it lasted, but eh. I just don’t see good storylines coming for her from this angle, especially when they went the route of her finding out she wants to start the paper back up to share information with the town. Are we really going to trust Rosemary’s integrity when it comes to writing news stories, especially when MOST of the time the things she’ll be allowed to write about are, you know, who grew the biggest cabbage? It makes me dread the potential for Round Two of Nosy Rosie.

I dunno. I used to really like Rosemary but this season’s been pretty rough on her character. Good for you for wanting to find your passion career, but most of us work so that we can eat, not for a fun way to pass the time and stay busy. :/

--

School District Problems

Mr. Landis is right and Elizabeth is an idiot. Sure the school board is being assholes for no reason (as if they’d care if one blind child was sitting in a classroom in one western town lol), but Elizabeth’s really going to dismiss his concerns about how she can juggle the added work necessary to teach Angela while also keeping up with everyone else?

It sucks that Angela will get left out, but Elizabeth should be working with Mr. Landis to come up with a plan to teach Angela without sacrificing the education of her other students. Better yet, she could rely on her friends for advice. Like Rosemary.

Still no apology there...

Anyway, a projected 100 new kids? That’s outlandish. The only way that will happen is if they open a factory in Hope Valley, and even then it could take years. I MEAN, WHERE IS THE HOUSING GOING TO BE FOR ALL THE ADULTS THAT WOULD GIVE YOU A HUNDRED NEW STUDENTS LOL. I think we have to assume the plotlines are connected.

I also find it hard to believe the board would care about Elizabeth being certified to teach Angela. Where else is she going to get an education? It’s 1918 in the middle of almost nowhere???

This show drives me nuts with its attempt to be a “Frontier Show” while also shying away from the characters actually being stranded/cut off from society at large. You still had unlicensed teachers teaching in western towns in this time period because nobody cared!!!

ANYWAY, if Union City was like 3 miles away I could see them trying to combine schools. But it isn’t. So.

I dunno. I hate this plotline. I feel like they stole it from a better show (Road to Avonlea, where the bigger school was just a few miles away and it made sense to consider combining the schools for a better education system for the students as one-room schoolhouse teaching was proven to be less effective) but didn’t bother to consider any of the logistics of the storyline.

Maybe it’s my passion for education and history that makes me hate it, though. I know too much to find this storyline believable. I should also mention that I haven’t enjoyed Elizabeth’s role as teacher for a very long time. (I think they suck at writing Elizabeth as a teacher.)

I’m just not interested in wherever this is going to go because I can’t imagine it’ll have a lasting impact.

The only good thing I can say about the whole plotline is that I REALLY LIKED HOW BILL CAME OUT OF IT. I think he’s the only person who knows how to speak to Elizabeth. She struggles with blunt honesty at first, but ultimately tends to appreciate it, and that’s pretty much what she always gets with Bill. Also, the scene where he shuts her down didn’t make her look stupid, either (just worried/anxious), so I could appreciate it.

--

Jesse’s Disappearance

I couldn’t care less about this plotline if I tried. Jesse’s gone missing in the mountains before (was it last season? I don’t even remember because I didn’t give a damn about it then either) so this felt like a multi-reused plotline...for the same character, no less.

It’s also poorly implemented. Why doesn’t anyone else care about Jesse? Why is Clara pouring her heart out to Lee while her friends are failing to support her in the slightest? Why should any of us care when we know he’ll be fine?

It just feels so forced for the sake of drama, and it’s made 10x worse because there’s too much else going on at the same time.

Also, how convenient that they have to tell us how hard-working and dedicated Jesse is to his work to force this plot to even make sense... C’mon, he has never been a particularly dedicated to work. They just needed to explain why he would have left the car so that he could be “missing.”

Boring. I also don’t care that much about their “stolen” money.

The only good thing in all of this is seeing how soothing of a voice Lee actually has. 

--

The best parts of the episode:

Henry calling Florence “Flo” GOT ME. It was so surprisingly cute???

I love Bill, and he really came out of this episode looking great! Finally, it seems they’re done writing him as a grouchy old man who hates everyone! In this season (and particularly in this episode), he is allowed to be capable, smart, helpful, loyal, and in possession of a great deal of integrity. I couldn’t believe that guy tried to bribe the judge in town right off the bat lmao...but the way Bill handled it felt very in character—very reminiscent of him from S3 or 4. He never shuts things down immediately, preferring instead to get more information to use against his, erm...opponent. Should he need it, of course. I was really happy to see him written well in this episode.

HENRY’S LETTER FROM HIS SON. STARTS OFF WITH “DAD,” AND SAYS PS. I LOVE YOU AT THE BOTTOM. Good for Henry.

Fiona’s backstory! Finally, we get some FIONA LORE. Neat.

PUDDING HANDS CARSON. 

[blondeblackwidow]

Surefire ( Poe x OFC x Kylo Ren ) AO3

III. Amicea 

a/n: This is very exposition-y, apologies, there’s a lot to digest when meeting an OC for the first time. next is kylo again, then back to poe. amicea was the hardest to write to be honest, because i was such a perfectionist on how i wanted her to come out and i'm not 100% at how she came out. the next chapter is a time jump of a few weeks! nothing major

wc: 1586

tw: none

tags: @treestarrrrrrrr​ @simonsbluee​

III. Amicea

Amicea sat at her vanity, staring into what seemed like nothing, Poe’s words ringing in her ears. When you wake up from this daze, you’ll know where to find me. She was so young when she became a queen. She has never known a day where her life was fully her own. With Poe it was always different, she felt free.  She shook her head, she had more to think about than her heart. 

A knock on the door broke her from her thoughts, and her trusted lady in waiting entered the room. She held in her cursties by the door. “Forgive the intrusion, your majesty.”

“There is nothing to forgive, rise.” Amicea smiled, she huffed looking back in the mirror. “Do you know a new way to style this?” She asked, running her hands through her light hair. Edly walked behind Amicea and began to undo her braids from earlier.

“Is there something wrong with your current style, Majesty?” 

“Edly please, call me Amicea.” She shook her head. “No, just want something new.” 

“There is a new style the younger ladies at court have been trying, they’re braiding with two strands instead of three.” Amicea nodded.

“It sounds beautiful.” Her breathing was nervous and unsettled. 

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with Commander Ren staying for dinner, would it?” 

“N-No.” She stuttered, and Edly rolled her eyes. She just stared into the mirror. “I’ve never seen him without the mask, you know?” Edaly finished the first braid down the right side of her queen’s head.

“I would expect he’s quite handsome, if his voice is any indication.” Edly shrugged, and finished the braid on the left. “Will you be wearing this gown?” 

“I’ll wear the white, the one with the draping on the shoulders.”

“The one you wore to Naboo, my queen?” Edly asked over her shoulder. 

“That’s the one.” Amicea sighed, and walked over to get dressed. Edly helped her out of her old dress and into the new one. Amicea smiled and let the memories wash over her.

She was set to marry this Commander Ren, but at least in this dress, she could pretend it was a different man of the same title. 

The walk to the dining hall felt like an eternity. Just before the doors, she paused. Looking over her shoulder, she scanned the halls for the black robes of her intended, when he came up as a small figure at the end of the hall, she snapped her head forward and folded her hands in front of her. 

“You did not have to wait for me.” Commander Ren said upon approach. “I could’ve sat myself.” She turned to respond, and was taken aback. 

The mask was gone. She didn’t know why she expected it to be there, but it was gone. For the first time, she laid her eyes on the man she was set to marry. He was handsome, the dark eyes and hair contrasting against his pale skin. He couldn’t have been much older than her, and she suddenly felt less scared of his presence. He’s not a villain. She thought. He’s just a boy. 

“It is customary that the Queen be the last to enter the dining hall.” Edly interjected, breaking up the eye contact that was becoming dangerously intimate quiet fast. He looked embarrassed, which struck her as odd.

“It is no matter.” She smiled, and faced forward again. “We will enter together, we are to be married after all.” She quickly tried to gather her thoughts. He was still watching her. His eyes traced down her braids to her shoulders, and the small triangle of exposed skin under her breasts, all the way to the floor. He watched her like a dying man in the desert, who just found a pool of ice cold water. A part of her wanted to hide, the only man who ever looked at her like this was Poe. But that was different, there was love there. This was a political strategy for survival. Yet Amicea was faced with a maskless boy and felt herself compelled to know him more. 

Just before the doors opened to enter, her offered her his hand, it was gloveless, and soft. Although she knew it was against custom, she took it, and they walked in as a singular unit.

The seating was rather easy, the consort of the sovereign always sits on the right side of the ruler, and although it was not official, he was extended the same courtesy. The conversation, on the other hand, was forced and painful. Each of her advisors grumbling about whatever problems in the region they were responsible for. Lord Vadik, was the most vocal of them all. He was much older than her, and a good friend of her father. He looked after her like she was one of his own, and Amicea was forever grateful.

But right now, she felt like a gazelle in a lion’s den. Each one of the ten seats surrounding the table wanted something from her. And after 28 years of ruling, she felt like she had nothing left to give.

“My Queen, what do you think of the conflict in the mountains?” She perked up from staring into her glass.

“I think the mountain people fight each other every three cycles, I almost feel like that’s what they do to pass time.” She scanned the room, and found horrified glances from each of the High Lords, but next to her, Kylo Ren looked as if he was restraining a laugh. “Apologies, my lords, that was unbecoming of me.” 

“Nothing to forgive.” Lord Vadik spoke first. “We must begin the preparations for the formal announcement of your engagement and the reception to follow.” She nodded. “Do you have an opinion on how we announce the engagement, Commander Ren?” She turned to her right, where Kylo Ren was stammering to come up with an answer. She raised an eyebrow, she knew what she was doing.

“I think a small announcement for the people of Adrora and one for members of the Order. A reception for the high lords and ladies and my command staff, anything too large would raise concern from the New Republic.” Amicea was impressed. He may look like a boy playing at a game he didn’t understand, but he did, he was intelligent. He had a regality to the way he spoke, she had half a mind to ask him about his lineage.

“Very wise, Commander Ren.” She looked over at Lord Vadrik. “See to it that it’s arranged, please.” She stood. “It’s been a wonderful evening, I’ll see you all tomorrow.” They all took their turns bowing before exiting. Kylo went to do the same, when she stopped him.

“Have I caused offense?” He asked, and she shook her head.

“No, I would like you to join me, I’m going on a walk through the gardens.” The various reactions of the room were stunned, but she didn’t care.

“Am I allowed to say no?” He joked.

“No.” She smirked, and began to walk the other way, Kylo following close behind.

The gardens were just down the corridor from the dining hall, and were full of greens and blues, and a peaceful night breeze blew through the plants. Amicea felt at home here. It was were she played as a girl, and she read books as a teen, and where she came to be alone as an adult. 

They walked in silence, until he stopped in front of the large fountain. 

“Why do you back down so much around your advisors?” He asked, his forehead wrinkled as if he had thought about this the whole time. 

“Pardon?”

“I mean no offense, but you seem to have these moments where you’re a fiery ruler and then you immediately back down and apologize, and I can’t figure out why.” His voice was soft, and gentle, and she felt at ease. She took a seat at the edge of the fountain, and sighed.

“I was eleven days old when I became queen, my father died in his sleep. I was 19 when my mother was killed when her ship crashed into the mountain side. I wasn’t even formally crowned.” She looked down at her hands. “Most of these Lords knew him, they’ve been Lords and on the council longer than I’ve been alive. They know this planet, it’s people, their opinion is important, I need them as my advisors.” 

“But they’re not the Queen.” He said simply, his hands resting on his belt. 

“If I offend them, how am I expected to rule?” 

“No one is born by accident, Amicea, we all have destinies. You were born to lead your planet, to protect it.” He sat down beside her. “I think it’s past time you remind them that it’s your birthright.” 

“You’re talking like you’ve lived it.” She laughed. “How do you propose I reassert my birthright?” She looked over at him, he talked with such conviction, such passion, it made her wonder about him. Who was she marrying, where did he come from?

“A coronation would be a start.” 

[tren-fraszka]

Hate Exchange Letter

Dear creator,

Thank you for taking your time to check my requests. I know my requests can sound a bit tricky, but please don’t be discouraged. I wish you will have good time writing first and foremost!

My AO3 is Tren, if you wish to check it out.

Likes: comedy, casefics, canon compliants, AUs, time loops, bodyswaps, roleswaps, “being hoisted by your own petard” plotlines, snark, pettiness, rivals, enemies to friends to lovers, violence, friendships and character bonding,

DNW: explicit sex, A/B/O, mpreg, rape depicted as positive (so no “it’s okay, because the other person enjoyed it/it was what they truly wanted”), trans headcanons, soulmates, stories ending with surrender to fate/destiny, fourth wall breaking in canons where that doesn’t occur.

Also, I included what ships I’m okay with in each fandom. Please do not include any ships that aren’t canon and I have not allowed in those sections (if you feel really strongly about a ship, you can ask through mods just in case, if I didn’t include my opinion on it).

Additionally, while I almost never request fanart as possible medium, because I prefer my main gift to be fic, I would be very okay with receiving fanart treats.

                                                REQUESTS

PERSONA 5

Hate that ends

Hate that exists and continues

Hate that starts

Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira

I’m a big sucker for party traitors, so it isn’t really a surprise that I walked out of my Persona 5 playthrough with a new shiny ship. I love how messed up it is with both of them planning to outplay each other in a deadly game and yet still forming an emotional attachment. I also really love how they are mirror images of each other. They are extremely similar, and yet they are also each others opposites. There’s just something fascinating in watching them interact.

I’m okay with all takes on hate for this ship. Akechi has canonically very love-hate relationship with the protagonist, so you can spin this however you want. You are also free to make Akira as bitter about the whole thing as you want. I’m always a game for Akira having all the regrets about Akechi’s death and hating Akechi for leaving him with all the emotional turmoil.

For the story, I’m very okay with some in-between the canon flirting with the obligatory dash of scheming and mind games. I’m also all about different ways their confrontation could go down. Maybe it’s Akira who dies and Akechi lives through with his hateful feelings not coming any closer to being resolved? Or Akechi can’t keep his feelings in and slips at some point?

AUs 

I don’t mind AUs, just be aware that the messed up relationship between the two of them is a huge draw for me, so I would definitely opt to preserve that part in some form. You don’t have to do the exact same scenario, but at least make them childhood friends, who ended up on the opposite sides of some conflict. Or undercover spies who got in relationship without knowing each other true identities and they really should kill each other since they work for different clients. The exact setting is of secondary importance to me, so choose whatever you feel would work best. AU Divergences are also welcome. I’m always a game for Akechi surviving. Especially, if he gets to shoot the final boss in the face.

Akechi Goro & Self

He has so many issues you are practically spoiled for choice. Bastard by birth, believes himself to be a reason why his mother died, spent years in foster home system which just enforced his belief that he isn’t worth of love, became a supernatural assassin despite having strong sence of justice. And did I mention having to kill the only person he had formed a legitimate connection with? Yeah, just one of those things would be a great self-hatred fodder, but all those things together mix to create a true picture of self-hatred. You can’t go wrong with it. 

There are so many prompts you could potentially use for this in Akechi/Kurusu segment above (just take out the potential shippiness if the pairing is not your thing), I don’t think there’s much point in repeating myself. You are free to AU as much as you want and have fun.

Hate that ends

Sakura Futaba & Self

I loved the chilling exploration of Futaba’s problems in her palace and further revelations we get through Sojiro’s social link. I would love insight into her deteriorating self-worth post her mother’s death and then followed by slow improvements once Sojiro takes her in.

I would love insight into Futaba trying to figure out the truth about her mother’s death, her initial refusal to believe that it is her fault, followed by slow acceptance over the time, as she fails to find any evidence to the contrary.

I asked for Hate that ends, because I would prefer a take that is compliant with the canon story. I know this is pretty constraining, but at the same time it means that you don’t need to concentrate on the improvement factor. As long as the story ends heavily implaying that Phantom Thieves are about to help her with her issues I will be satisfied.

However, if you do dig the hope aspect I will love some quality Sojiro & Futaba family interactions and her slowly acknowledging that maybe she deserves more than a slow death in seclusion and decides to seek help form Phantom Thieves.

Ships

I ship Akira and Goro, and don’t want them shipped with anyone else. I’m okay with including pretty much any other ships, except for the ones between the characters who are still students and adults.

GOLDEN KAMUY

I’m reading manga chapters as they come out, so you are free to incorporate any new developments into the story. I will definitely be caught up.

Hate that exists and continues

Ogata Hyakunosuke/Sugimoto Saichi

If you know this canon I probably don’t even need to explain to you what I want. They hated each other from the very beginning of the story and the world may end, but their hatred would still live on. You don’t have to be too shippy with this, if you don’t want to, I mostly want to just get more off their passionate hatred we get in the canon.

For the prompts, I would love if they had to work together (just the two of them, or maybe with Shiraishi as a suffering third wheel), because someone kidnapped Asiripa and they had to get her back. Or chasing someone who stole the skins from them.

Alternatively, I would love petty matches over Asiripa’s attention when they act perfectly nice to each other, because she is there, but keep competing for her attention to annoy each other.

Also, this canon is ripe for tropes like huddling for warmth, or sharing one blanket, and would definitely encourage the hate-filled take on those. Also time loops with those two nd how much of a disaster it would be.

AUs and ships

I’m all for canon divergences or changed settings. You want Sugimoto and Ogata as coworkers in modern setting? Go for it. I would love any messing up with the story, because there are so many things that could have gone differently here. 

I have no strong ship preferences here as long as Asiripa is not shipped with anybody. Also I prefer Sugimoto to have no romantic experience, aside from his canonical one-sided crush, before he started to have feelings about Ogata.

THE RISING OF SHIELD HERO (ANIME & MANGA)

I watched anime and read manga, but have not checked light novels. So please, no spoilers for anything beyond manga.

Hate that starts

L’Arc Berg/Iwatani Naofumi

Naofumi spends a lion share of the plot having terrible trust issues after Myne’s betrayal and you can’t convince me that he isn’t extra salty about L’Arc.

L’Arc is literally the first person Naofumi willinglu opens up to after spending majority of the plot avoiding trusting anyone, so the fact that this person turns out to be his enemy must sting. While L’Arc isn’t a type to keep grudge, Naofumi certainly is. Which is why I just want Naofumi being all bitter about his feelings for L’Arc after the betrayal.

I would love some more adventures of those two before the Wave happens and everything goes to shit. Or maybe they meet after the Wave with Naofumi having been separated from the party and struggling with something, and L’Arc runs into him and helps him out (because he’s not the type of guy to stab someone in the back). Which just prompts Naofumi to be even more bitter, because he wants to really hate L’Arc, but unlike Myne he can’t just label him as completely evil.

Or Naofumi going through all the memories he has of L’arc wanting to find good reasons to hate him more, but just coming with more reasons why he loved him in the first place.

AUs and ships

Setting changes and canon divergences are all fine, as long as you keep the element of betrayal.

I’m okay with Naofumi also having some feelings for Raphtalia for an awkward romantic triangle, as long as his complicated feelings for L’Arc are the focus of the story. Other than that I don’t want either of them shipped with anyone else.

GINTAMA

I have watched anime up to Gintama': Enchousen, so please no spoilers beyond that season.

Hate that starts

Hate that exists and continues

Hijikata Toshirou/Okita Sougo

I loved their vitrolic relationship from the very start and the more we got of their backstory, the more I loved it. I would be okay with the story not being very shippy, as long as I get plenty of their amusing interactions.

I love how well they understand each other, including the reasons why they don’t get along, but somehow it is easier for them to maintain that animosity than to try and repair their twisted relationship. 

I always enjoy small tidbits of how terrible they are at working together when it comes to solving anything that isn’t Shinsengumi-threatening emergency. I loved that episode which was just showing Hijikata and Okita attempting to do normal police stuff and utterly failing to have any sort of law-abiding integrity while they were at it.

If you want to go to the backstory and how they already didn’t get along in the dojo I’m also all for it. Any involvement of Mitsuba to add oil to the already bright flames of mutual dislike is welcome. I love how her presence mellows both of them when she’s there, but in the long run it just made their relationship even more of a mess, because they both wanted the best for her in their own way.

For shippier request I would love a date attempt by those two homicidal idiots. There are just so many ways this could go wrong. Or Gintama staple of handcuffed together with Hijikata constantly having to stop the dismemberment attempts.

AUs and ships

I’m open to any sort of setting or canon divergence. Then again, I dare you find a cooler setting than samurai police in alien infested Edo.

I don’t want the two of them shipped for anyone else, except for maybe acknowledging  Hijikata’s canonical feelings for Mitsuba (because that just makes Hijikata and Okita’s relationship even more of a trainwreck). For other ships I enjoy Gintoki shipped with either Otae or Tsukuyo, and Kagura and Shinpachi as two characters who are not yet ready for relationship, but would make a nice match once they grow up more.

BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA

I read the manga chapters as they come out, you can assume I’m caught up on all new developments.

Hate that ends

Bakugou Katsuki/Uraraka Ochako

I love how different the two of them are, but at the same time how well they compliment and understand each other. Also, while I love them as a pairing I won’t mind if you write them as friends, as long as you don’t pair them with other characters.

For this exchange I would love a more conflict driven beginning of their friendship. Bakugo says a few words too much about Midoriya? Uraraka tries to talk to Bakugo about how he treats Deku or just about how he acts in general and accidentally pokes his terrible inferiority complex? Or they run into each other before the UA entrance exam and somehow end up having a more bitter relation? All of that is good.

I would love if then they were forced to then acknowledge each others strengths as heroes, but possibly still feeling somehow bitter. Maybe they end up working together when UA is attacked? Or incorporating their duel during the sports festival (which I love, it’s what started this ship for me). Or maybe Uraraka gets kidnapped together with Bakugo during the camp and she ends up revising her opinion of him while they are in captivity together. 

For more prompts I would love having them complete some sort of exercise or exam together. I would love to see them pretend to be villains for the sake of exercise and butting heads, because they dislike each other. Or they work together on something for school festival. Like making a perferomance together. Alternatively you can go for a future fic where the two of them take part in an action to stop villains as full-fledged heroes, but they can’t let go of all the hang-ups they have about each other from when they went to school together.

AUs and ships

I would very much encourage any future fics for this pairing. I love seeing characters as fully-fledged heroes. I’m okay with other setting changes, though I would prefer for the competence aspect to still come in play somehow in them (with Bakugo being stupidly talented and hard working, while acknowledging Ochako’s potential). I’m also very okay with canon divergences.

I don’t mind past Midoriya/Ochako if you want to incorporate it into the story, but I’d rather not get any love triangles for this pairing. Either have Ochako’s feelings sizzle out or have them date and break up at some point in the past. When it comes to other pairings I like Midoriya/Todoroki and Eraserhead/Mic, but have no strong feelings on other characters pairings, so you are free to do whatever I guess.

FATE/ZERO

I’m well versed in Fate franchise so if you wish to expand beyond Fate/Zero to include either some parts of Fate/Stay Night or El-Melloi II Case Files I will be very fine with that.

Hate that exists and continues

Kotomine Kirei & Self

Kotomine Kirei and his self-loathing is unironically one of my favourite ships in Fate. I loved Kirei’s internal monologues in the novel, as he slowly inched toward the self-discovery that he is in fact the very thing that he was taught to hate the most.

Give me all the religious guilt. All the nagging thoughts that follow Kirei’s enjoyment of ruining other people’s lives. Kirei already thought of himself as lacking before the events of Fate/Zero and watching his doomed pursuit of finding something meaningful in his life was great.

Kirei was basically doomed to suffering, either by continuing his empty life or by embracing his true self and plunging himself into depth of self-hatred. And I’m all about that freefall, sponsored by the ancient king Babylon. So give me Kirei struggling within the confines of Holy Grail War, trying to find himself, yet suspecting that nothing good will ever come out of it.

AUs and ships

I’m okay with canon divergences, less about setting changes due to how deeply Kirei’s issues steam from his specific situation, but if you can make it work I will be for it. I would be very excited for canon divergences. Maybe Kirei making slightly different choices during the Holy Grail War? Maybe alternate timeline when he decides not to betray Tokiomi, but somehow still ends up on path of evil despite his efforts. Maybe he summoned a different servant, who influences Kirei differently? I’m always surprised by how interesting alternate scenarios people come with for Holy Grail Wars, just give me your take.

For alternate timeline takes, you can make my day by including wreacking Matou’s mansion and/or killing Zouken. Even if it’s just a footnote.

I very much ship Kirei both with his dead wife and Gilgamesh. You are free to incorporate both of those ships. 

Hate that exists and continues

Waver Velvet & Self

Another contender for the biggest self-loathing in the franchise. El-Melloi II anime reminded me just how much I enjoyed that aspect of Waver.

I would love an alternate take when Waver and Keyneth actually had a more proper face-off other than their first meeting on the battlefield. I would love if Waver saw Kayneth wheelchair-bound and blamed himself for that.

Or something more canon-compliant exploring Waver’s feeling of uselessness and guilt he has. Either is good. For extra self-loathing you could get the family Waver is staying at caught in the crossfire of one of the fights. Or Waver gets used by some other master to attack another and only belatedly realizes that he was nothing more than a tool used for murder. 

Just give me some quality Waver suffering and self-blame whether dislpaced or not.

AUs and ships

Similarly as above, I’m stocked for any canon divergences. Maybe Waver summoning a different servant? Waver making different choices as to how proceed with the war. Maybe making an allience that doesn’t work out for him in a longer run? 

For alternate timeline takes, you can make my day by including wreacking Matou’s mansion and/or killing Zouken. Even if it’s just a footnote.

I don’t ship Waver with anyone, so I would prefer no romantic plotlines for him. I find his relationship with Rider interesting and definitely important, but can’t see it as romantic.

[caro---line]

13 Reasons Why

Things I hated about season 2:

•Clay. I didn't like him in season 1 too but he became even worse if it was even possible. I get that he's coping with a tragic loss of his life but he wasn't the only one, right? He was going around, blaming every single person and he didn't even think about himself. Thank God Justin and Sheri talked to his senses a little bit (if I rember correctly). He was also changing his mind about Hannah all the time and it was kind of annoying and confusing. He believed every word he heard. And the ghost-Hamnah was right - he supposedly loved her so much but he was willing to see the worst of her. Even this thing with Zach when he told him to fuck off just because he was jealous of Zach's relationship with Hannah. I mean...the fact that she had sex with someone doesn't mean she was a slut already. And I guess (and hope) she really had something more with Zach so Clay was just acting like a mad kid who realised he didn't get so much as others.

•The parents. Especially Bryce's father for sure. We could see that he was just interested in his business. I feel like he was helping his son only because of the facf that Bryce's situation could have also affected him and their family's name. He was awful in a way that he probably guessing that Bryce was guilty but he didn't really care. I suppose he doesn't respect women too much either. But also Zach's mother. I know she really loved him but I feel like she wanted him to be much more than he was. Like he wasn't enough for her, you know what I mean? He hid his relationship with Hannah from her and then his friendship with Alex and others, and I think he was just afraid she wouldn't approve to this. She wanted him to be...almost like Bryce. It's awful. And since he accused her of keeping all of her emotions for herself I'm guessing she wasn't really supportive towards him after his dad died. That's why he had to find someone to talk to like Hannah.

•Other adults connected to school. Firstable, the principal. A man who should be the most responsible person for all of this, for his students' safety. He should care. But all he cared about was the school's good name and its sports field. And since I'm mentioning sport, I should add the coach. I know he saw something. He should have been aware that his students are doing something wrong but he ignored it just because he only wanted them to win and win, and win. He even allowed them this fucking place so they could make a clubhouse out of it. What a hypocrite.

•The scene betweet Jess and Justin in a locker room. At first it was so strong, moving and jist beautiful. And I think it should've ended with a passionate kiss. Yeah, I know it's stil cheating on Alex but we just knew it will happen. They really loved each other despite what happened and I think they were just meant to be together. Since Justin came back, we could feel the tension between them but also such longing one another. But I think the writers ruined Jess' storyline a little bit. She was traumatised and she needed some time to recover, to start living normally again and I feel like their sex was a little bit rushed. I know they wanted to show us that the one person she wasn't afraid and shamed of even after what happened to her was Justin and it's really amazing but it just didn't suit her. I believed she was still closed and Justin should've showed her that he accepts that. That would've been perfect for a new start for them.

•SkyexClay relationship. It was just...weird. They weren't a match and that's it. It felt forced and kind of odd. I know they wanted to give him another girl with mental problems but it was even a worse decision. Why can't you just let him be haha? I mean, this whole drama and the love triangle 'Hannah-Clay-Skye' was unnecessary. Clay was acting stupid again like he could treat Skye or smth, idk. But instead he hurt her even more because he couldn't accept he was still in love with Hannah. He should've given himself a little bit more time. I prefered him and Skye as friends.

•The scene at the prom when Bryce stands next to Justin and talks shit to him. I mean, I hated the fact that Justin seemed so vulnerable and helpless again. It almost looked like Bryce still had an influence on him. I bet that if Clay hadn't showed up, Justin would've drunk this alcohol Bryce proposed him and then even maybe talk to him more, idk. You could see that the friendship between them was just so strong.

•Monty. He was just as evil as Bryce.

•The last scene with Tyler. Yep, I mentioned in my latest post that I loved the fact that they mentioned the topic of school shootings but I didn't exactly like the way they did it. Tyler preparing to this and everything else with him was great, you could feel his pain but also kind of determination, maybe even madness. But this thing with Clay... Yeah, sure, don't call the police, lock the doors and let a 17yo solve the problem. It was just stupid and not believable. I don't think that someone like Tyler would actually give up so easily. In that case, I would prefer him to shoot Clay and get to the school. And what happened after he get on the car with Tony was even worse. I mean, a man can't be more stupid than Clay. He wants to be a hero and save everyone but all he does is just creating more problems and drama.

('Things I loved about season 2' in another post)

[booksbookandmorebooks]

Leah On The Off Beat Book Review.

Spoilers included.

So this book is one that has been on everyone's lips. its a book that has such a mass amount of hype around it. whether that is down to the fact the first book was made into a very successful movie known as love Simon or the fact that its representation has been praised so much, either way this didn't change my opinion on this book and unfortunately i didn't like it.

Synopsis.

As the First book, Simon VS was based around Simon Spier this book as you can guess is centred around his best friend Leah. Leah is a talented artist and drummer unfortunately for her no one really knows this as she has kept her passions to herself from lack of confidence and fear of rejection. Not only that but Leah has been keeping a big secret from her friends, while her mother knows she is a Bisexual woman her openly gay best friend Simon is none the wiser. while battling the crushing pressures of school life, prom and confusing emotions Leah's friendship group begins to shatter around her and the repercussions of her actions may not help situation causing tension of every kind to run high.

Now there are a number of reasons why i didn't like it and yes they do out weigh the good but regardless there are bits of this book i did like and enjoy and as always i like to at least try to be even with my negative and positive points. so here are a few reasons why i did like this book just to start this review in a positive way.

Positives

I cant and i wont pretend to speak for everyone but i felt the representation in this book was brilliant. The awkward and confusing thought process and narration from Leah throughout was so relateable, it was honestly like talking to my younger self. I loved how the stress pressure and awkwardness of Leah's interactions with her crush was portrayed, it was new it was exciting but also kind of terrifying. Especially when she has had a crush for so long and on someone she thought she could never have. I liked how Becky didn't make Leah and Abby's love too sweet and easy like a typical YA romance, there were arguments and heart break while watching people really find themselves and having to come to terms with who they really are. There is a specific conversation between Leah and Abby that show Leah's frustration with Abby's indecisiveness and confusion with her own sexuality , now although its hard to read from both points i loved how it was portrayed and how raw it was! It was so clever how Becky intertwined all of the stress Leah was experiencing in her love life and friendship groups with her bad attitude towards most other people in her life, for example her mother and her mothers new boyfriend. Which is another issue many teenagers young adults will face, the angsty teenage phase as its more commonly known.

Throughout the book Leah is snappy and rude at times to the people around her (a lot of the time unneededly so) but Leah was also very aware that the way she was acting wasn't okay, but felt she has to be this way to protect herself. This was another very relateable subject and was handled so gently which as a reader meant you could probably theorise that this is something that Becky has probably experienced at one point or another, which is why its makes it so easy to sympathise with.

Now the bit i hate...

The negatives.

My biggest problem with this book was how nice and neatly wrapped the ending was, i hated it. This book is supposed to be about growing up and coming of age and for nine out of ten people its never easy never mind neat. so this sickly sweet happy ending for me was rather unbelievable. The issue with Simon and Bram was another thing that didn't sit right with me, for a good chunk of the book Simon is heart broken and riddled with guilt about falling in love with a school that Him and Bram were not planning on attending. He begins to reconsider his decision knowing that this could cause more problems for him and his relationship. Yet this whole situation is faded out in a number of throw away sentences at the end of the book. i felt this was something that should of been addressed more gently and carefully as this is also another subject that so many teenagers will experience in their academic life.

My final issue was the so called love triangle. The book tries to create a love triangle between Leah Abby and Garrett. At the beginning of the book it is painfully obvious how crazy Garrett is about Leah and how everyone around them knows it, even Leah to a degree. She starts off thinking she could like him as he is such a nice and kind guy, but yet when Abby begins showing up more that goes out the window, which is fine. Im all for Abby and Leah but the fact that to me, it felt like Leah was leading Garrett on was not something i enjoyed. she ended up avoiding him and screening his calls even lying to him at one point and allowing his feelings to develop knowing full well how much she loved Abby. Now you could say Leah didn't ever see a future with the seemingly straight girl, that's also fine it does happen, but even if that was the case she knew deep down that she didn't want Garrett so why not tell him? the scene at the end where she runs back to Abby was adorable, i cannot fault that, but again she seems to completely forget about Garrett as he becomes irrelevant and she is consumed by her new relationship.

I know that this probably happens a lot and i'm seeing this from an outsider and adults point of view , but it was just something i couldn't get on board with. This whole subject made me view Leah as rather selfish, which is not a likeable character trait regardless of the situation.

To Sum Up

Over all this book handles sexuality very well in my opinion and how difficult it is coming out or even finding yourself and becoming happy with who you are. so for that i completely applaud this book, but regardless of its representation it wasn't the best in my opinion and i felt my self forcing my way through this book in order to just get it finished and move on.

Over all i gave this a rating of two point five out of five

[danandphilsecretsanta]

When The Moon Met The Sun

To: @darknessanddaydreams

SUMMARY: Phil is the Prince of the Sun, he has always been a smiley, self-loving person, that was until he started feeling a new emotion, loneliness. He fought against it, knowing that he was the Sun Prince, he was suppose to be the happiest person, that was until he felt a new emotion after meeting the Prince of the Moon, Dan, wholeness.  (It was such a treat to be your Secret Santa, I hope you enjoy my big story :3) ((Also don’t take the phrase Planets seriously, it’s just what their group is called. Dan and Phil are apart of the planets))

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Phil sighed, his world just felt like it was different today. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but curling up with his coffee and watching the bright and happy animals dancing in his rays just didn’t put him in his happy mood like it always did. Something felt wrong, something was missing, something big.

It hit him like a brick, he felt lonely. Why, why in the world would the Prince of the Sun, the nicest and happiest boy of all the planets would be so lonely. Sure he had his older brother and his mother who kept him tons of company, but this time, it just felt different.

Maybe it was guilt of watching a girl from the village kiss her boyfriend on one of the benches facing the kingdom that the feeling came rushing like a waterfall. His family never talked about marriage, it never really came up, but he wished it did. They probably wanted him to meet a nice girl in the village and fall in love. The only problem was that he was royalty and everyone treated him differently in the village. Finding a woman who wouldn’t fall to her knees in front of him or barf her lunch on his shoes was slim.

Out of fear or out of happiness, he didn’t know.

“Good morning, Phillip.” Mother smiled walking into the kitchen, she was wearing a beautiful dress ensemble with suns imprinted all over it and a huge crown. What was such the special occasion.

Phil smiled fondly, he could only tolerate his parents calling him Phillip, maybe even the horrible Philly, “It is a great morning, why do you look so dressy?” His voice was in question.

It was always a good morning when Phil raised the sun, he didn’t know why, maybe his mother liked to praise him for his good doings. He was the child born with the sun birthmark, meaning he was the one and only who could raise the sun until the next birthmark is made. His father’s birthmark had long disappeared leaving him with the job to raise it.

So every dawn, he’d wake up and gaze at the moon that hung so darkly in the sky, he’d bring down the moon slightly, alerting the people of the moon it was his turn and the sun would come bumbling up. It was slow like a loading computer and the moon would come back quietly.

Phil had nothing really against the people of the moon, Mother said they were dark people, unlike his kingdom. They were depressing, never smiled, enjoyed suffering and dark places, but from the moon signals he couldn’t help but admire the beauty.

The moon brought beautiful stars that twinkle like children’s eyes and the land was in a blue hue that created such peace. The sun brought a sense of rush and he didn’t really understand why. The sun was playful, loving, light while the moon was peaceful, quiet, and passionate.

“Well it’s a special day,” mother replied taking a pastry off the island, “today we have The Meeting Of The Planets. This year you must join us, now that you bare your mark and I don’t want no ifs, or buts.”

He couldn’t help, but groan. He hated going outside and talking to people, somehow he met the strangest people or would get himself in weird situations.

“Now don’t pout, you look like a follower of the Moon.” Mother scolded.

Phil swallowed the last of the coffee and set it gently on the table, “I’m not acting like a follower of the moon.” he retorted walking away ignoring her cries of what he should wear.

He already knew, the outfit of utmost power, this was forced on him whenever they saw the kingdom of the moon. He hated being a show off to people he didn’t even know.

Phil bowed to the guards standing at his bedroom door and they only opened when he sighed and lifted his shirt where the sun was imprinted on his upper hip. They all smiled and wished him a lovely morning and he was allowed to go in his own bedroom.

He hated the Meeting Of The Planets. He always got out of them, because at the time his mark was faint, not ready to give power, so he was practically useless until his eighteenth birthday when the mark got a yellow hue. This meeting went on for a month and it consisted of boring talking and having to go to balls to socialize. Mother and Father went only to show off to the people of the moon and lift their noses like snobs whenever they passed by them.

Or so Martin said.

He would rather be in the village with the kids. There he could give them piggy back rides, braid hair, and make beautiful flower crowns of the nicest colors. He loved cheering up the sad, seeing people in pain and longing made him turn into a beast until he got just a little smile.

So, when he got in the spacious room with a huge canopy bed in the middle, the top cut out so he could see up at the sky where the sun was shining brightly, just a faint marking of the moon was lingering, just watching, he stared at the huge mirror beside his wardrobe and put on the best smile he could muster.

Smile. Smile like nobody’s watching. Just keep smiling, Phil.

He stopped, frowning at what he just did, if someone was in the room he would of looked practically insane. With a sigh, he stepped away and opened up the wardrobe, taking his suitcase from the top and began placing in different clothing. His closet was full of bright whites, yellows, and pastels, not a trace of any cold colors, those being specifically worn by The Followers Of The Moon.

His hand touched a ruffled white bag and he inwardly cringed, he was going to have put it on. His mood was plummeting, it felt like he was just having a sad day. The Prince of the Sun could of sad days, right?

Shoving back the feeling of sadness, Phil unzipped the protective bag and took out the war uniform. Discarding his warm pajamas and fluffy socks he pulled out of a tiny drawer a pair of black knee high socks and velvet white gloves. He put them on before placing on his uniform so nothing would overlap.

First was the dress shirt that he buttoned up and next he threw on his pants, shoving the shirt in and fixing any of the weird bumps that bulged out. Inside the closet was a gold belt with the sun inscribed on it and he clicked everything together. Next was a silver vest and a gold cravat he hated more than anything, it made him look like a total prick.

Lastly was the decorative jacket that zipped all the way up to his neck and had a little pin of a sun on the breast. He liked the decorative jacket, just things on his neck made him get a sense of masculinity.

Phil did one last check of the uniform, making sure everything was in place before going to the vanity. Taking a soft brush, he ran it through his soft red locks and placed the gold crown on top of his head. On the tops of the triangles there were suns connecting together, they looked like more like flowers to him.

Blue eyes turned to the small cat clock sitting on the vanity, he let out a bumble of fake curses, it was noon and mother and father usually left at noon! Making them wait would be the worst thing in the world!

Cursing his ability to keep track of time, he ran to the bed where the suitcase laid with clothing overflowing from it. He took a minute to breath before shoving the stuff lion into the top and slamming it.

He picked up the handle and launched out the door, apologizing to every maid and guard he accidentally bumped into to and even, clumsy him, lost his crown in hall B and had to sprint back to pick it up.

Reaching the front doors and almost falling down the steps was Phil’s worst moment and he could hear the guards snickering as he stepped outside. The carriage was outside and the few guards taking them were placing the suitcases in the back.

“Thank you!” He shouted, giving them his best smile and depositing the heavy suitcase in the poor guy’s arms. With agile legs, he hopped into the carriage and sat beside his father kicking his legs back and forth, ignoring their looks of amusement.

“You are late, Phillip.” Mother cooed sweetly, as she applied a thin layer of powder to her cheek bone.

Phil nodded, biting his lower lip, “It’s not my fault!” he tried, “you gave me literally no warning, my hair is still wet!”

“Your fault for waking up later,”

“It’s winter! I want to stay in my bed and return early, the Prince of the Moon can keep his Moon up longer for all I care.”

Mother hummed, “wears the boy out, pretty skank.”

Maybe it was a running joke in their kingdom that The Prince of the Moon was a pretty boy. Phil really never tried to meet the Moon Prince, they never crossed paths, but today would be the day where they’d meet.

Something in his soul jumped. Why was his soul jumping to meet the scum that was The Prince of the Moon?

“Phillip, is that a dent in your crown?” Mother’s voice was high as she pointed to one side.

There was a thick dent in the side, probably when he dropped it in the hallway, clumsy him. “Oh crap, I dropped it in the hallway when I was sprinting to here.”

She sighed, shutting the pocket mirror and placing it in her Coach purse, “be more careful, silly boy,” she scolded lightly.

After a few more banters the carriage lurched forward and the sound of the horse’s hooves hitting the gravel made clear to the ear. When they passed through town, adults and children wished them farewell with Sunflower petals and gold glitter. Being the good prince he was, Phil stuck his head out the small window and waved to his adoring crowd and just in time to catch a crown of flowers from a youngster sitting on the fountain.

Their eyes met as he donned the crown and mouthed a multitudes of thank yous.

“I will never understand those crowns the children make for you.” Father spat, “they make you look girly.”

Phil rolled his eyes, “I like anything my people give me.”

They fell into more silence, the auburn haired boy tapped his foot on the floor of the carriage, trying hard to ignore his father’s words that felt so harsh. He constantly sucked up to his father so when words that nobody wanted to hear was exchanged, it hurt him.

The carriage fell back into silence until it got to five in the evening when Phil felt the first whisper, ‘my turn, go down.’ The Moon Prince’s voice was kind of pretty. It was smooth and had a hint of southern to him.

Gently, he brought a hand up and pushed it down, the sun moving with his hand. The moon started to come up and he watched it go up like a mute dove. So peaceful and so passionate.

“Time for rest.” He spoke in the heavy air, leaning his head on the cushion. When the sun went down he fell into a drowsy state. It took a lot of power to keep the shining ball of fire up. So, he decided he was going to have a light nap until they got to the Saturn Palace where the meeting was being held.

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“Wake up Phillip, time to leave.” Mother whispered gently, shaking Phil until he opened a tired eye and yawned. His gaze went to the moon in the sky, it hung as a crescent tonight.

“It’s late, do we have to go to a meeting at ten in the night?” he mumbled fixing the glasses that were knocked slightly off his face and placed the crown with the dent in the left side on his head.

“Sorry son,” Father smirked, “this is the most active time of all the planets, maybe in the middle of the meeting you can sneak out and get some rest.”

He smiled a little, “thanks Pa.”

Phil shuffled awkwardly to the edge of the seat to jump out and he followed his parents. The Saturn Palace was huge with a ring circulating around it. The garden at the front were nicely trimmed hedges with purple illuminating flowers, the Saturn flower. He thought those and the famous Moon flower were beautiful to the eyes, also very sweet in teas.

Mother usually never let him drink Moon Flower Tea, but when he managed to get his hands on some in the market, he hide it well and only drank it when he was feeling sick or down. The tea was very calming, like lavender, and it cleared sinuses.

They climbed the steps and got to the doors where the guards opened.

“Like hey Phil!” Tyler, The Saturn Prince smiled, turning to talk to Phil. Standing next to him was the Princess of Mercury, Cat and The Prince of Earth Troye.

Smile. Remember to smile. Phil put on a smile and walked over, “hey guys, sorry I’m late.” his voice coming off strained. They took no mind to his state knowing how much power it took to raise the sun and keep it up. He was numb to the feeling, but when he first started out, he would pass out after it would fall from such power radiating in his body.

For now he just got super drowsy and acted a little drunk.

“I see you and Moonie are messing around with each other,” Cat smiled pleasantly, “the sun came down so early last night!”

“It’s winter, psssh nobody cares.” Phil laughed and from his bright aurora he got everyone in the group laughing and smiling. A gift of his, nothing very special about it.

“Is everyone here?” he added on.

“Yes,” Troye responded, “everyone arrived expect PJ he is coming late, The Prince of Moon came after me, he scurried off somewhere with his mom gripping his arm. I hope he’s okay, but hey, me and all the other planets are going hanging out in Louise’s room, you should come.” Hanging with Neptune, that sounded fun, she was a hoot.

Quickly, Phil scratched the back of his head, “I-I maybe, I don’t know how I’ll feel.”

“Phillip!” Mother chimed suddenly from the door where the other parents and children were walking in, “the meeting is starting, come on!”

Tyler made this loud noise of surprise and launched inside. “He has something planned.” Phil predicted.

“10 pounds it’s something with dancing.” Troye muttered under his breath.

“If it doesn’t have sparkles and magic I’ll be disappointed.” Cat giggled.

Everyone took a seat, Phil noticed the chair between the King and Queen of the Moon was empty. Troye did say he was here, didn’t he? Was the Prince okay?

Before he could go into protective mode, Tyler interrupted everyone with a shout into a microphone. He welcomed everyone with his power of magic, drawing elaborate pictures of happiness and balls. He even did a little dance and sang a tune that everyone found hilarious, other’s cringing softly at the off-key notes, but it was sweet.

When he was done, Phil was first to clap with a huge smile on his face. Tyler blushed, giving a shy bow before taking his seat between his parents, the meeting began now.

Everyone got serious, Anthony (The Prince of Mars) stopped making faces at Ian (The Prince of Venus), Louise stopped talking to Cat, the room fell silent.

The Queen of Saturn began calling out the different names, “Daniel Howell, Prince of the Moon.”

The Moon Followers looked at the empty seat and sheepishly smiled, “Daniel will be back, hopefully. He wasn’t feeling very well, the power he gets at the highest point makes him nauseous.”

“Write his notes, Prince of the Sun.” Queen Saturn snapped and Phil nodded. He was rather confused, why was he writing the notes for his worst enemy, even Mother and Father glared harshly at the laid back Moon Followers.

The meeting was mostly a refresher of most problems of the people and Phil found himself slowly slipping out of life, his eyes drooping and his notes looked like chicken scratch. It was his last straw when he fell forward and he heard a couple of people laugh.

“I’m going to bed.” Phil announced to the whole group.

“Do you need help finding your room?” Tyler piped up, looking like he was bored out of his mind.

Though, right now Phil kind of wanted to be alone so he turned down the offer with a shake of his head and walked out of the meeting room. He knew where everyone stayed, he just needed to find the room with his white suitcase in it.

So, this was where you go, how could Phil find his way through a castle, well, he really didn’t. He got so hopelessly lost he had to ask directions from a maid where he was staying and she lead him to a room.

He saw light seeping under the door and almost sighed in relief, he needed a nice flourish in the light to fill his senses and lull him to sleep.

When he opened the door he was expecting an empty room, but he found a person sitting cross legged in the center with their head up to the powerful light. He was wearing a black war uniform with a purple tie. The person was a young boy with brown hair that swept his face and his skin was the color of a light tan. Freckles littered his face and a deep dimple complimented his content smile as he stared at the sun beam.

“Hello?” Phil offered, he hated that he scared the living crap out of the boy.

“Oh my God!” He spoke in a southern accent that sounded very familiar, “I didn’t mean to be in here, well I did, but it doesn’t matter, I can leave?” his voice was getting higher and higher as he spoke.

Phil looked him up and down and narrowed his eyes trying to figure out what planet he was. “The Prince of the Moon, Daniel.” he whispered.

“You must be The Prince of the Sun, Phillip?”

“It’s Dan.” “It’s Phil.”

They looked at each other in shock, before laughing a little. “What in the milky way galaxy are you doing in my room?” The auburn haired boy smiled, discarding his jacket and loosening his cravat.

Dan bit his plush lower lip, “It’s weird okay, my powers, they get unstable, but being in light makes me feel better.”

“That’s not weird,” Phil dismissed quickly, “when I get headaches I hide under my duvets to stay in the darkness, maybe it’s just something we need to do?” he smiled and Dan smiled back, but he suddenly got all serious.

“Stop.”

“Stop what?”

Dan smiled and quickly hid it, “stop making me smile!”

Phil laughed and Dan laughed back.

“Witch!” He accused in a playful tone making Phil let loose a loud guffaw of laughter.

As Phil began taking off his vest Dan shielded his eyes, “Please, Sun Freak, don’t go stripping in front of me.”

“I’m doing no such thing! I’m just getting changed, you’re the one who broke in my room.”

“Touché.”

The room fell into silence, Dan sat back down holding his head and Phil took the opportunity to shimmy out of his pants and trade them in for some nice sweatpants and donned on a loose white shirt.

He noticed the Prince muttering stuff under his breath so he placed his crown down on the bed and moved in close, “Are you okay?” He asked giving a touch to the boy’s shoulder.

Dan nodded his head, “Keep touching me, I feel better, the world stopped spinning.”

“Are you really okay?” Phil asked with more concerned, sitting down so he could take the soft hands. When they said the Moon Prince was a pretty boy, they weren’t lying. His doe-eyes and plush lip gave him a sense of innocence that seemed out of place for a person of his nature.

“Nah,” the brown haired boy smirked, “usually at this time I’m laying on my bed watching my world spin and throwing up in a bin, make sure the maid changes your bin, but hey with you here I actually don’t feel that sick.”

“Do you get sick often?”

“Do you get sick?” Dan countered playfully.

His personality was like talking to a person you couldn’t take seriously. He was a jokester, but in a sweet way. “No, only when I first started raising the Sun. When did you start raising the moon?”

“Two days ago.”

“Wow.”

Phil chuckled and Dan chuckled. The Moon Prince shot him a glare and covered it with a cocky smile. “Why is it when you laugh, I laugh?”

“It’s a power.” He tried sounding mystical, but it came off creepy. This time Dan laughed on his own will and Phil found himself smiling along.

The Moon Prince was kind of a cutie.

The auburn haired teen stretched one arm and stuck his tongue out a little, “I feel so much better being in my natural light. I was falling asleep in lessons. Stupid Mars kept laughing at me.”

“When isn’t Mars laughing.”

“True. Wait, have you been to these meetings before?”

Dan shook his head, “I’m the youngest of all the planets, but I’ve been to a few palaces. Mainly Neptune and once Uranus (PJ), but not everyone’s. My parents sorta shelter me.”

“Same, oh hey talking about the planets they are doing a little get-together after the meeting, you should come with me!”

The brown-haired boy instantly shook his head, “I don’t want to be with people.”

“Come on,” Phil pleaded, “I don’t want to be the odd man out, I feel like sometimes they’re just my friends, because my parents own everyone.”

Well, the truth was out.

“I agree.” Dan muttered, “like they are only nice to me, because I could light them on fire.”

Moon people could light people on fire, it was insane. Phil thought it was the coolest thing in the world after watching someone do it at a festival, but his Mother called it cheap tricks.

“Can you make fire?” Phil whispered, “I think it’s super cool.”

“Yeah,” Dan said casually, “sometimes I can on will, but it only comes out of control when I’m mad. I once lite a villager’s house on fire when I was kid, because I didn’t get my way.”

They laughed together, their heads leaning close, almost even bumping foreheads. Their bants kept going, it was like he could tell the Moon Prince anything on his mind.

Suddenly they were knocked out of conversation by a knock, “Hope you don’t sleep naked Phil!” Tyler yelled pushing the door down. Behind him were all the planets doing their things.

“Why would I sleep naked?” Phil inquired. He noticed Dan began inching away and squeezing their conjoined hands together.

“I don’t know, people sleep naked.” He laughed, but pointed at the hands, “what am I missing?”

They both blushed, “Nothing!” Phil and Dan yelled together, “I make him feel better, my powers!”

“I’m sick right now, actually hey Anthony grab me that bin.”

“Oh my God you already marked it Dan.”

“Just give me the goddamn bin!”

The bin was passed around the planets, Cat being the last one to drop it into Dan’s lap and he spit a little into it. Must of been when Phil almost let go of his hands.

“So, Dan and Phil are going to be holding hands the whole time, awkward much.” Louise laughed good-naturedly, bumping shoulders with the Moon Prince.

“It’s five AM, raise the sun, Phil.” Dan muttered in a remembering tone.

“Ew no, it’s like five, give me another hour.”

Troye smiled, “you too banter like a married couple.”

They looked each other in the eyes, Phil laughed and Dan laughed.

“Stop making me laugh!” He shouted laughing at the same tone of his counter-part.

“It’s funny!” Phil stuck his tongue out and rolled his eyes.

Slowly the planets sat around in a circle around the Moon and the Sun who were awkwardly holding hands. “How sick would you be if I held one hand?”

They slowly separated on the left hand, “not bad, just a bit out of it, raise the goddamn sun Phil.”

“It’s not time yet! If I raise it too early I will deal with my father’s nagging.”

“Your father’s nagging, please, my dad is so much worse!”

“Hey!” Louise clapped her hands together, “stop your little fight, we are all friends here.”

“My parents would say otherwise.” Phil muttered under his breath and Dan howled with laughter, hitting his hand on the floor. It was cute watching him do that.

“Phil.” Ian deadpanned and Phil looked over, then panicked mode set in. Ian’s power was able to read minds, did he really just hear the Sun Prince call the Moon Prince (his enemy for centuries) cute. “Stop it now, you’re so cringey.”

“What did you hear?” Anthony quickly asked.

“I’ll tell you later.” Ian promised, smiling at Anthony’s loud groan as he flopped on the floor, in the process he kicked Cat in the breast and nailed his best friend in the jaw.

Anthony’s one power was super strength, even a light tap of a little temper tantrum was enough to give Ian and Cat a bruise. The Prince of Venus was already covered in bruises from just being friends with the strong man.

“Oh! I know what we can play!” Tyler yelled, “truth or dare, my favorite game in the whole world!”

Dan and Phil laughed at the same time in the same tone.

“That is so creepy.” Louise voiced already hating the parrot they did together.

Dan narrowed his eyes, hitting Phil in the shoulder, “stop laughing!”

“Telling the Sun Prince not to laugh!” Cat gaped, “that’s like telling a dog to stop eating! I’ve never seen the Prince frown.”

“Really now?” Dan asked in a perplexed tone. He turned to Phil and drop his face into a frown, he squealed in delight as he watched Phil’s face go down in a frown.

“You stop it!”

They laughed at the same time.

“I want to kill myself,” Anthony muttered.

“To the game!” Tyler shouted.

It was a whole bunch of nonsense. Dan got dared to let go of Phil’s hand where he threw up straight in the bin and now he had to lay on the ground with Phil holding both of his hands and their legs intertwined together.

“Is this real life?” Dan asked looking up at the ceiling.

On that cue, the King and Queen of the Sun came bumbling into the room and when they saw the state of their son tangled up on the Moon Prince they were at a loss of words.

“Phillip Lester!” Mother shouted walking forward, the game stopping and the mood dropping into something sinister, “get your hands off that filth!”

Phil tried to get his hands back, but Dan tighten his hold and moaned in pain. “I can’t! He’s in pain, I’m giving him energy!”

“Energy! He’s draining your powers!” Father yelled, “everyone get out of this room, and you Daniel Howell, if I see you ever with my son I will not hesitate to kill you.”

Dan and Phil looked at each other and back at their friends whose faces looked shock to say the least.

“Grab the garbage bin, Cat you catch Dan.” Anthony mumbled to Ian who sighed softly.

Phil got Dan to stand up and Ian held the bin to the side of Dan and Phil slowly eased his hands out of Dan’s, they stared at each other one last time, before the brown haired boy was heaving over in pain, his doe-eyes scrunched in pain as he was dragged out by Cat.

“Please barf in the bin Dan! I don’t care how ugly you think Cat’s shoes are!” Ian yelped.

“What did you think about my shoes!”

The bedroom doors shut and Phil was encased in the disappointment and anger of his parents. They just stood there, tapping their feet and giving him the stink eye.

“He’s not that bad!” He tried softly, “he’s sweet, kind, sarcastic-”

“Shut up, go to bed Phillip.” Father snapped going to his bed.

The auburn haired boy hung his head and walked to his bed. He sat down on the plush mattress and slowly he flicked his hand for the sun to go up.

Mother gasped and he turned with a dark look in his eyes, “for Dan, he wanted it up so he would feel better.”

☀️      🌙

In the lovely morning they got to eat while the meeting went on. Phil kept looking at Dan and they would meet eyes every time. Just to piss the Moon Prince off he would laugh in the silence just to hear the other’s laughter.

Ian kept giving him glares and he simply blocked the other out. If he really wanted to read his thoughts then it didn’t matter. Maybe he did like Dan, but there was nothing wrong with that.

Everyone had little crushes once and awhile and maybe he just likes Dan, because was feeling lonely.

'Meet me in the garden during break.’ Dan mouthed, before turning to Louise’s parents who were talking about some person stealing their crops.

Phil nodded and hid his smile behind his tea cup. He almost choked on the murky blue liquid, it was Moon Flower Tea? Why did he have this tea, usually they would have the normal kind, he looked over at Father’s cup, he was gently sipping brown liquid.

He chuckled quietly to get Dan’s attention and pointed at his cup raising his eyebrow. The boy only smiled and put a finger to his lips before going back to the speaker, his tea a dark blue too. That sly minx.

Louise’s parents finished, dismissing the meeting early. “Mother, I’m going to go outside to bask, don’t wait up for me.” He exclaimed setting the cup down and walking out of the room. Dan made a similar excuse and left the room after Phil.

“Hey Ian,” Anthony mumbled with his face pressed to the table top, “you never did tell me what Phil thought.”

“I’m afraid what he is thinking will lead to war.”

“What?” Cat exclaimed, as she was eavesdropping into their conversation. Her yelp sent a worry look through all the kids as they all gathered around Ian who shook his head and smiled trying to play it off like he didn’t say anything serious.

“Tell us what the hell he said!” Tyler gaped.

Ian sighed, “I’ve been hearing so many things through those two in this meeting and last night.”

“Phil isn’t thinking of doing anything bad to Dan?” Louise asked.

“It can be taken that way if you look through sides.”

“Ian, just spit it out.” PJ snapped. He was now new to the party, since he arrived late in the night.

“Ugh, okay, this is so weird. Last night Phil thought Dan was cute and all this morning he was looking through his thoughts and he’s pretty sure he’s crushing on Dan,” ignoring everyone’s look he went on, “Dan on the other hand thinks Phil is very nice and what happen last night gave him a new outlook on Phil as a person. They both like each other.”

“And that’s bad, because the Sun and the Moon are suppose to hate each other.” Troye muttered, his eyes lost in thought as he tapped his finger on the table.

Tyler’s face dropped, “should we stop this?”

“This isn’t our story,” Anthony scratched his chin, “we should just watch it play out until things get out of hand and we have to intervene.”

The children of the Planets were placed in a state of shock and wonderment. They didn’t know how to handle a situation like this and all of them were trying to figure out a way to talk to either Dan or Phil. They could probably knock some sense into one of them.

🌙    🔥

Content laughter filled the space of the sun room, flowers grew out of everywhere and twirled in beautiful pictures and made their way around a bench occupied by two people. Phil’s hands were in a gentle hold of Dan’s and they talked softly to each other.

Phil liked making Dan smile, it made a little dimple appear and it was absolutely adorable to him.

'Will Phillip Lester please come to the meeting room.’ a voice came over the intercom.

“What?” Dan asked.

He shrugged looking around, “I don’t know, maybe I left something in there. Just wait here, I’ll be back.”

Letting go of their warm hands were the hardest, it was until Phil was the farthest away from Dan when they let go and the auburn haired boy left with a skip in his step humming softly.

When the door shut he heard a mumble of voices and Louise appeared from a voice. “Why did you do that.” Dan asked, he already knew it was Louise. Her powers were to manipulate voices and be able to throw her voice.

“I have to talk to you and Phil can’t be in here.” She smiled sitting down. The brown eyes flew to the door where Troye was locking it and putting a force field in front of it. Anger bubbled in his stomach, what did they think Phil was going to do, fucking kick down the door.

“Only for our safety Troye is doing that.” Ian appeared with Cat, her body coming back to a solid, her power was invisibility.

“Why is everyone here like I’m in alcoholic anonymous. I haven’t done anything bad.”

“You like Phil.”

“Yeah?” Dan raised a brow, “He’s nice, of course I’d like him.”

“No, you like like him.” Troye narrowed his eyes, “you think we haven’t seen your little looks, holding hands, Ian has heard enough.”

“I told you to stay out of my head!” Dan barked to the brown haired teen who stepped back, Louise flinched, her hand that was comfortably on Dan’s arm was heating up, “can’t you understand that the brain is a private place, not somewhere you can just look!”

“Calm down,” Cat tried soothing.

“I’m not calming down, why were you in my head, Ian? Why have you been in mine and Phil’s. We all know you are tuned into Anthony’s all day, why did you include us.”

“Actually shut the fuck up Dan.” Ian snarled.

Louise grabbed Dan ignoring the searing pain it brought on her hands and Cat and Troye grabbed Ian pulling him back. They wanted to avoid getting Dan mad, making him mad would end with a huge fire until he was calm.

“What if I did like Phil?”

“You cannot like him, it’s against everything the planets have. You and Phil must hate each other!”

“I could never hate him!”

That was the first spark and everything lit up like a Christmas tree. The beautiful vines, the gentle flowers, all erupted in flames. Dan’s face was pulled back in anger, his eyes a white glow and his hair erupted in flames. Troye quickly sent out a force field around Louise and one around his group as they watched. Ian fell to the ground holding his head, all he could hear was a high pitch beep and screaming.

“Dan!” A shout came and they watched as Anthony rammed the door down and he, PJ, and Phil fell into the force field around the door. Phil’s blue eyes looked devastated

“So, they saw this coming.” PJ huffed as they watched the sun room be eaten by the angry flames of the Moon Prince.

“Someone needs to go in there and stop him, before Tyler’s castle becomes ash, but who?”

Both of them looked at Phil and pushed him out of the force field. Phil yelped falling on the group and getting a lung full of smoke. “Dan!” He coughed, his voice strained, but his crawling body did get the Prince’s attention.

“Phil!” Dan gasped, his eyes going back to the melting chocolate and his hair stopped erupting into flames and laid back down in a brown sweep. They ran towards each other and when they finally touched Troye threw a force field to protect Phil from the fire, it being nothing towards Dan.

They shared a look, Phil holding Dan to his chest and breathing the clean air of the bubble.

“Phil?” Dan whispered into the other’s chest, “is it true, do you like me?”

“Is it true you like me back?” Phil smirked, “I just got the bro talk from Anthony and PJ. They called me a pussy destroyer twice.”

“Twice? Wow you pussy destroyer.”

They laughed at the same time, Dan didn’t yell at Phil for making him laugh this time, he just embraced that whenever Phil would laugh he would laugh.

“Oh my God! My garden!” All the children turned to Queen Saturn who looked like she was having a heart attack seeing her sunroom slowly becoming more like an ash room.

“I’m so sorry!” Dan yelped popping the bubble and running to her, his hand still connected with Phil, practically dragging the other. “I got angry and everything just went on fire, but you know ash is good for the soil.”

“Phillip!” Mother yelled pushing her way through and saw their hands connected, “what are you doing, don’t touch that scum! What did I tell you Moon Scum!”

“Don’t talk to my son like that!” Queen of the Moon shouted pushing Mother, “Daniel, step away from that Sun Freak.”

“No Mother!” Phil finally got a backbone pulling Dan into a protective hold, “Me and Dan have came to an agreement.”

“We made no such thing.” Dan whispered.

“Just go with it.” He mumbled quickly, his fingers tightening on the other’s shoulder. “We have came to the agreement that I will stay with him every time the sun falls and he will stay under my care. We shall not be bothered by any means unless the castle is in danger of terrorist.”

He pushed through the people and out the door he went into a light room. “The sun needs to come down, I’ll be here for you.”

So every day for the month that the sun would need to come down, Dan and Phil would disappear to the light room and lay on the floor cuddled in each other’s arms and a bucket beside them when Dan would toss his lunch into. Sometimes they talked, while over nights it would just be quiet.

Phil would fall asleep and Dan would be on top of him, their fingers intertwined in a loving hold. The Children of the Planets began noticing how close they have gotten. Now it was unheard of the two not holding hands or pushing chairs closer to each other for the sake of being close.

Ian was constantly asked what was going on in their minds, but he just shake his head and look down at the ground. He couldn’t hear Dan’s mind anymore and Phil’s brain was always a wayward of thoughts that he didn’t understand.

“Dan, truth or dare?” Louise smiled at the boy who had his head laying on Phil’s lap. Their hands intertwined so Dan wouldn’t get sick. He was actually getting a little better, but having Phil there was just a plus.

“Truth.” Dan smirked, he never did dare, because it was always started with Get Up and he couldn’t do that or he’d blow chunks into the bin beside Anthony.

“Are you and Phil dating?”

“Dating?”

The Prince of the Moon looked at The Prince of the Sun. “Are we dating?” he inquired.

“I don’t know, do you want to date?”

“Do you?”

“Sure?”

The brown haired boy nodded, “the answer is yes, we have been dating for two seconds.”

“Wow, that was not even the closest thing to romantic!” Tyler complained, “I wanted to see happy tears and hugs!”

“Happy chunks.” Anthony mumbled, laughing at his own joke.

“The bin is beside you, because you’re trash.” Ian hummed and Anthony just laid on the ground laughing harder.

The meeting ended for the month and Dan and Phil said goodbye to each other longingly, they shared their first kiss at the door, lips pressed gently to each other and they were forced into different carriages.

Phil became sad, being away from Dan had changed his mood. The sun was up longer waiting to hear from the Moon whose usual 'go down sun’ was now replaced with 'I love you so much.’

The parents hated each other, forcing their children never to meet until the next meeting. Phil was sure he wanted Dan to be his only bride and they would raise the sun and moon together, that was his dream. He wanted to speak with Dan to ask if he was okay, he wanted to make sure the boy was still alive and not watching his world spin.

The Children of the Planets would come to Phil’s palace sometimes with words from Dan. Phil liked getting his messages from Louise, because she said them in Dan’s honey sweet voice and it was just so calming in familiar.

Yet the messages were soon running dry and Dan was starting to disappear. His moon going down early and staying in the sky for such a short time, before forcing the sun to go up.

With this little contact Phil’s mood began to plummet, his auburn locks became a dark black and his eyes once filled with the joys of the sky were a dark blue. His parents were starting to worry as their boy grew into an adult. Whenever they talked of marriage he would whisper the only person he wants to marry was Dan, because it was true, nobody was able to swoon his heart like Dan was able too.

The meeting of the planet were five years apart and now that Phil was twenty-three and Dan was nineteen they were on their way to the meeting. He could hardly calm himself down when he saw Venus’s palace and he left his parents with no words and walked into the palace.

“Phil!” Ian smiled pleasantly, “Welcome to the palace, it’s been so long that we have gotten to talk.”

“Nice to see you too Ian, have you seen Dan?”

“Dan went upstairs somewhere, he told me to send you up when you came, but I guess you beat me to it.”

He smiled and patted Ian’s back before climbing the stairs. He decided to go to the light room where he first saw his beloved and it almost was like a dream seeing Dan laying on the floor basking in the light.

“I like laying in the light,” Dan whispered as Phil approached, “it reminded me of you, reminded me of your kisses when I was forgetting your face.”

Big brown eyes opened and a content smile with a dimple appeared, Phil fell to his knees and straddled Dan pressing their mouths together. Teeth clashed and fingers pulled at clothing and hair.

“I missed you so much, I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Dan smiled, his hands carding through Phil’s black locks, his nose scrunched up, “your hair, it has turned black.”

He tugged at the locks softly, “I’m sorry, I’ve been so down lately my mood changed my hair.”

“That’s so weird.” Dan laughed and Phil laughed with him at the same time. It was so great to make the other laugh at the same tone.

“My parents told me I could never see you again, but I knew I could never live with myself if I never saw you again.”

“Yes, I want you to become my husband, rule my palace with me.”

Their eyes met, Dan’s face melted into a beautiful smile and he raised his head to press his lips gently to the other, “Of course Phil, being away from you might of been the hardest thing I faced in my world.”

Explaining this proposition to Phil’s parents was the worse, but with yelling and hatred everything worked out. His parents weren’t very keen about him marrying Dan, but Phil didn’t let that stop him from having a huge wedding with the sun and moon high in the sky to show both villages that they were equal.

Dan and Phil were crown the Kings of the Sun and Moon and created a castle between their villages and encouraged the villagers to mingle. At first nobody wanted anything to do with each other, but as the years went on and the Kings went to the different villages they began mingling. Soon Moon Followers were marrying Sun Followers and praising each King.

“Time to raise the sun.” Dan whispered to Phil who was passed out in their bed. He sighed poking the other in the cheek and pulling at his dark hair until he got a tired eye to open, “time to raise the sun,” he repeated.

“Not yet.” Phil mumbled grabbing Dan by the waist and pulling him down to cuddle. The brown haired young-adult tried to act like he was mad, but in the warm embrace of his beloved sun, he couldn’t stay mad for long.

“You lazy ass.” Dan laughed making Phil laugh tiredly. Even if they were now getting old they still had the odd power to make the other laugh at the same time they did.

Phil kissed the top of Dan’s head, “you love me.”

“Sometimes.”

“Sometimes?” Phil gasped in fake hurt.

“Fine, I will always love you, you stupid Sun Freak.”

“Thanks, love you too, now go back to bed Moonie.”

Dan smiled softly, hiding his face gently in the crook of Phil’s neck and cuddling the other close. He loved being embraced by his beloved Sun and being apart from him was agony, for now they just stayed locked at the hands and relished in sweet words from time apart.

Because the Sun loved the Moon.

☀️     ❤️     🌙